Tag Archives: Linen

Yes, it’s true. I am being ever so cliché and taking on a diet for my New Year’s Resolution. A YARN diet. You’ve all seen the Yarnerator. I have worked at two incredibly successful and inspiring yarn shops – Purl Soho and Knitche. I’ve also been knitting for over 8 years. The sad truth of it all – my Yarnerator canNOT even hold all the yarn I call my own.

You think I’m kidding? Ask my mother. The first time she saw my stash was just over a year ago. My mother knows nothing of knitting. She says to me, “Uh … Amanda … do you ever have a project in mind when you buy yarn?” with a look of utter confusion. Those of us in the yarn world know THERE’S NO SUCH THING. The sadder truth, my stash has grown by at least 50% since that encounter – but A LOT of that has already been used … maybe – I don’t know exactly how the math works out.

I have many resolutions this year. One is to get out of my apartment more. Freelancing, knit design, and general knitting are not activities which are great for getting me out of the house and I have decided this is the year I will try harder to meet a man – OKCupid is NOT doing it for me. Another was to not buy yarn until I have finished three projects – two of which had to be from my stash. I decided this was not good enough once I took into account all that I made in 2014:

While I am incredibly proud of all that I made in 2014 (and I don’t think this is even the whole of it), maybe 15% came from stash (part of Diamond in the Gradient, the stripe of my Staggered Cowl, two thirds of By the Mayside, half of Sparrow, meet Habu, Geometry Trapezoid, Janna’s Tunic ::Part Deux, and half of Chevron Stripes hat). Two projects were sponsored, but I bought the yarn for everything else! I am SO proud to have supported Local Yarn Shops, but I have to remember I am a broke-ass female! Here in is where I birthed my newest New Year’s … let’s call it a dare.

2013 was a big year. It was my first year freelancing full-time and I have to say, with the support of family & friends, I survived! It was intensive and I fell [cough, WAY] behind in blogging. However, I did not fall behind in crafting.

The other big news is that I moved back to my hometown of Chicago this past Fall. I’ll be sharing some fun touches I’ve put into my new space later this season, but what would be more appropriate for my first post back than sharing the finished project I teased in my last post?

Like this:

I finally made it to a store I’ve only heard mention of for years, Habu Textiles. It was gorgeous – so many fibers and different blends of fibers that make this brand so unique. The most interesting part is they are actually spinning fibers and running machines behind the curtains, so to speak. I was itching to peak, but somehow managed to restrain myself – I could only imagine what beautiful chaos ensued from the humming and clacking in the background.

What could I possibly be shopping for at this time of year when temperatures are heating up and people are shedding layers? Knitters are stereotyped to have a season. Whether it’s the dawn of a new, trendy hobby (YES, that’s right, I said it), or light-weight knitting has always been a thing – there are a slew of beautiful projects that can be worn in the hot, steamy summer months.

During my trip to Habu Textiles, I chose some exciting fibers to experiment with. Two of those fibers are Shosenshi Linen Paper (which has a thin coating of viscose) and Wool Stainless Steel.

Here’s a preview of the summer knit in progress – I love the opaque quality of the linen: